Should I use this chain tensioner? It came with my kit. People have been telling me that they fall into the spokes and ruin your back wheel. People have told me that it can bend in and throw you right off your bike from dead stop.
I will never use one. You can run an aluminum strap from the seat stay to the chain stay and support them to prevent them from rotating into the spokes though. Someone on this forum or the "other" forum had a photo of one that they made. It was simply zip-tyed to the frame (2 on each end of the aluminum strap) and they replaced the bolt for the tensioner wheel with a longer one that would pass through the tensioner, tensioner wheel and support strap. They used a custom filed to fit spacer in between the strap and tensioner wheel to allow full tightening of the bolt through the whole assembly so everything was good and tight. Just be sure that the wheel will still roll freely.
you should really take care of this part... proper greasing and maintainance will do well... you should be able to properly install this part as you said it can mess up your back spokes.... it this all is done then there are no worries.... best of luck!!!
A great deal depends on the kind of frame you have and the size of your drive sprocket. If you can run your drive chain to your drive sprocket with tension above and below - AND it doesn't rub on a chainstay, or even come near one - then don't put a "tensioner" on at all. Adjust the length of your drive chain so you can slide the rear wheel back to put tension to it. Then use the chain guide/tensioner on the pedal side if you need to. I think that's the best way, if you can pull it off.
Hey Schwinn, I'm the guy that used the aluminum strap/zipties to stabilize my tensioner. My bracket is longer than yours, and there was enough room to drill a 1/4" hole close to the top corner to bolt on the strap.
I used a 5/16 nut and some flatwashers as spacers between bracket and strap(3/4x3/4 aluminum angle from hdw store. See pics.
I used a 5/16 nut and some flatwashers as spacers between bracket and strap(3/4x3/4 aluminum angle from hdw store. See pics.
Forgot to mention you may need to use a large adjustable wrench on the bracket,below the slot, to bend a slight twist into the bracket, to make it parallel with the chain.
Wayne Z
I noticed your bracket is much shorter than mine, so there will be less leverage to pull it towards the spokes. yours has 4 bolts too mine has only 2
Wayne Z
I noticed your bracket is much shorter than mine, so there will be less leverage to pull it towards the spokes. yours has 4 bolts too mine has only 2
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When you peddle and drop the clutch to start the engine the opposite side of the chain gets tight against the teinsioner. Hence forth the need for the slack. The best set up for those that have the unforgiving frame /chain clearance issue is a spring loaded teinsoner. IMHO
I have ran both designs stock and a spring set up both are very do able. I have a buddy that made a spring loaded set up that is flawless. He originally tried a rear suspension single left side drive, but his pivot point not being in the optimum position with the motor output sprocket gave him grief.
So he put a all thread adjuster where the rear shock went to make a long story short. Adjusted his chain tension once and never touches it. I really liked the way his ended up. And a skate board wheel is way smoother than the stock wheel too IMO.
I have ran both designs stock and a spring set up both are very do able. I have a buddy that made a spring loaded set up that is flawless. He originally tried a rear suspension single left side drive, but his pivot point not being in the optimum position with the motor output sprocket gave him grief.
So he put a all thread adjuster where the rear shock went to make a long story short. Adjusted his chain tension once and never touches it. I really liked the way his ended up. And a skate board wheel is way smoother than the stock wheel too IMO.
They are heavy- wish they'd make it lighter. I've seen them here with a set screw put through the middle to stop it from rotating on th eframe- i don't think it would break otherwise.
A derailler works great on the pedal side- if you build more- it tensions that side so the motor chain can be pulled tight if there are no other clearance issues with the chain stays, a cruiser usually has the best clearance but not often a derailleur and fitting handbrakes can be tricky without larger wheels-
so look for multispeed cruisers with cantilever brake fittings- my micargi even had a grooved hub that fit the sprocket-
1/2 links are available for both the motor chain and pedal chains and can usually be used to get a workable balance between the chains without using this heavy tensioner if there are no frame clearance issues
although breaking and resizing chains has always been about my least favorite mechanical thing with bicycles...
A derailler works great on the pedal side- if you build more- it tensions that side so the motor chain can be pulled tight if there are no other clearance issues with the chain stays, a cruiser usually has the best clearance but not often a derailleur and fitting handbrakes can be tricky without larger wheels-
so look for multispeed cruisers with cantilever brake fittings- my micargi even had a grooved hub that fit the sprocket-
1/2 links are available for both the motor chain and pedal chains and can usually be used to get a workable balance between the chains without using this heavy tensioner if there are no frame clearance issues
although breaking and resizing chains has always been about my least favorite mechanical thing with bicycles...
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